Journal lubricator distributor



June 19 1945. J. HENNESSY 2,378,407

JOURNAL LUBRICAiOR DISTRIBUTOR Filed Jan. 13, 1943 Flea; 5 v I MATTORNEY Patented June 19,- 1945 sumzrao ST TES PATENT OFLFlC E,

' irounmn-Lunarcnronlnrsanmumonf Jameslf'Hennessy, MontclainhJ.

, Application alanuaryjs, 19.43; Serial nonrzzass 4 Claims (013308-341)invention relates "to .railway axle -journal 11331110813013 "of the type:illustrated in-patent to .the'present inventor, 1N0. .2',260,"520,issued Octoflierv 28, 119.45., sin'which lubricant isrpumped from theIhnttom cf the oil=;box to the face zof the journal andsis aspreadoverthe lower *portion for .the';latter ltOlbe carried by the journal"to the bearing on the upper portion ;.o;f'the jour- 7 itial area :ofthe :IOWGT' POIUGTL-Of the "journal and i :to maintain aldesire'dcontact between the lu- 'bricant -zdistributing members and -the"journal drrespeotive sot-variations in"th'e height of 'the JournalSin-the lbox and "in variations in inclina- 1 tlon of the journallongitudinally of the box and irrespective of wear on the journalengaging parts.

Another-1 object of the he rreadily inserted beneath a journal while thesame is :in the :box'without detracting from 'a :firm thrustof all ofthedistributor'parts against the face sof the journal a'fte'r theassembly' is completed. 1 3 v i 4 "ifhese and other detail objects of'the invention :as will appear from the following description :areattained in the structure illustrated in the accompanying drawing, inwhich-- Figure .1 is a longitudinal vertical section -through an h. A.R. (American Association of Railroads -journal box and 'a distributorembodying' the invention, the adjacent portions of the iour-nal and thelubricantpump being shown inelevation.- I i 'Figure' 2 is a top view ofthe distributor with the box sides beingshowninsectionandportions of thepu mp berieaththe distributor being illustrated also. Parts of thedistributor assembly are removed to more clearly illustrate thestructure. Figure 3 is a vertical transverse section taken approximatelyon the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a view corresponding to Figure 1 but drawn on a smallerscale and illustrating the manner of application and removal of thedistributor to and from the journal.

The journal I forms the end portion of the axle and is provided with acollar 2. The box has side walls 3 and a bottom Wall 4 with its outeredge 6 vof the box opening 1. The lubricator pump comprises asubstantially rigid body portlon 8 resting on the box bottom wall andhaving inven'tionli's ?to' construct l :a distributor of substantialarea i so that -'it rnay wber 12,1943.

laterally textending inclined ears 9 to which are :pi-voted .aaz-seriesof compound'alevers 1m vand H, the upper ends of the zlatter-mentionedIlever-s engaging the journal collar 2. The inner ends of levers 1!?0engage-the touter 'errds of :plungers [2 which :are ithrust totheleft'by coil springs lt. Plungers :12 "operate pistons (not shown in the:pump .body to d-rawiinoil provided in the lower portion: of .the boxand to dis charge it to the disitri'butor.

"The journal and box :parts illustrated are of ordinary construction.The pump parts illusdmat'ed are vdisclosed in an earlier applicationfiled :by' the present "inventor June 1, 1942, Serial "No. -4'4i5;299,now Patent iNo. 1331;835, issued Octo- Mounted on the pump body is adistributor unit comprising alower arm having anallshaped terminalseated in a-socket in thetop of :thepump and-a plate N5 of cruciformoutline and-r aconcave-upper surface provided-with ridges ar ranged tocontact with the lower face of the "journal. Alubricant conduit 'l -6leadsdrom the lower end of arm M to outlets H in the upper =other tomaintainthem in the position shown in Figure :1. The movement of thehinged parts away from each other under-the thrust of spring Zlllimited'by the abutment of *s'houlders X at the hinged send of the unit.This distributor unit embodies features disclosed in an earlierapplication filed by the present inventor-September 6, '-1 94 1,-'Serial No. 409,761, how-Patent N0. 2;359;'643,issued October 3, 1944.

Associated with parts 14 and I 5 is an extension structur including -acentral *frame comprising a channel-like plate 2| with downturnedflanges 22 projecting longitudinally of the device beyond the ends ofthe plate. A coil spring 23 is compressed between seat ltand the lowerface of plate 2! to thrust the latter upwardly against the bottom ofplate I5. Plate 2| has a central end curved upwardly as at 5 to form thelower hole H through which spring 28 extends to enage its seat I9.

,A pan-like member 24 surrounds each end arm of plate I5 and extendslengthwise of the device beyond the arms. Each member 24 has a U- shapedreenforcing angular strip 25 with the upright flanges of the legs of thestrip extending alongside the outer portions of flanges 22 and pivotedthereto at 26. The horizontal flanges of the legs of each U and theadjacent portion of the pan member extend beneath the lower edges offlanges 22 and limit the downward movement of the outer portions of thepan members about their pivots 26. The outer ends of the pan members arefree to swing upwardly from the horizontal position shown in Figure l tothe position shown in Figure 4 to facilitate the insertion and removalof the distributor through the end opening in the box and while thejournal and the box are still assembled.

A series of felt pads 21 are held together by bolts 28 and are carriedin members 24. Some of the pads have depending cars 29 inserted throughslots 3!) in pans 24 to maintain the assembly of the pads and theircarriers when the device is not in place in a journal box. The contourof these pads is such that their upper edges are thrust against thelower portion of the journal and the pads absorb oil discharged fromplate l5 and, when saturated, distribute thisoil to the journal, thusproviding an even supply of oil throughout substantially the entirelower portion of the journal.

With this construction, the rigid central distributor plate I5 and thecarrier supported pads are yieldingly thrust against the journal toprovide uniform contact throughout the area of the distributor andirrespective of variations in the manufacture of the parts which may beformed without substantially machining or fitting and irrespective ofthe relative positions of the pump and journal in the box. The device issimple and the parts are held in functioning position by the two helicalsprings, each spring supported part being movable independently of theother. As indicated above, the parts are readily inserted and removedinto and out of functioning position.

The details of the structure may be varied without departing from thespirit of the invention, and the exclusive use of those modifications ofthe described structure which come within the scope of the claims iscontemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a device for lubricating a railway journal andincluding a rigid distributor plate of restricted area for applicationto the journal and provided with supporting means, felt pads disposed toengage the journal at the sides of said plate, and structure yieldinglysupporting said pads independently of said plate and means andcomprising a frame and pad carriers mounted thereon and a yieldingsupport for the frame and carriers, the mounting of the carriers on theframe providing for the inclination of said carriers and the padsthereon relative to said plate and frame and relative to each other tofacilitate the insertion and removal of the plate, frame and padsthrough the space between the journal and the bottom of the box to whichit is applied.

2. In a device for lubricating a railway journal, a horizontallydisposed frame defining an opening adapted to receive the support for acentral distributor applied to the journal, a yielding support for theframe applied thereto at opposite sides of said opening and arranged toclear said distributor support and to thrust the frame towards thejournal, a pad carrier normally extending horizontally lengthwise of theframe beyond each end of the latter and pivoted to the franie to swingupwardly about each end of the frame to facilitate application andremoval of the device through the restricted space between an axlejournal and box, and means securing said carrier against pivotalmovement downwardly from a normal horizontal position.

3. In a device for lubricating a railway journal, a central frame memberconsisting of a channel having a, horizontal web and downturned flanges,the flanges extending longitudinally of the device beyond the ends ofthe web, there being an opening of substantial area in said web forreceiving a separate distributor part extending from below the deviceupwardly towards the journal, a yielding support for said frame, padsfor application to a journal, carriers for said pads comprising pan-likemembers extending longitudinally of the device beyond said frame andhaving horizontal arms extending inwardly from the ends of said frameand abreast of said channel flanges, pivots through said arms andflanges at points spaced substantially from the inner ends of said arms,and interengaging elements on the inner ends of said arms and theadjacent portions of' said frame for limiting the pivoting movementdownwardly of the outer portions of said members.

4. In combination with a device for lubricating a railway journal whichincludes a rigid distributor plate of restricted area for application tothe journal and having a downwardly inclined conduit hinged at one sideand terminating at its lower end in a portion arranged to rest on a pumpbody and provided with a spring between said plate and conduit forthrusting the same apart; a horizontally disposed frame apertured tosurround said spring, carriers hinged to the ends of said frame andextending outwardly therefrom, fibrous pads mounted on said carriers toengage the journal outwardly from the edges of the distributor plate,said carriers being pivoted on said frame to swing upwardly on theirpivots from a normal horizontal position but being held against swingingdownwardly from said position, and a spring arranged to seat on saidconduit portion and to engage said frame to hold said pads against thejournal.

JAS. J. HENNESSY.

